


Coming Out of My Cage

by chicken_salad, Truealphaswag



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, M/M, Unrequited Crush, Wedding Planning, diner au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 07:53:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26848480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chicken_salad/pseuds/chicken_salad, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Truealphaswag/pseuds/Truealphaswag
Summary: Harry has always been oblivious. Draco has always been a bit obsessed with Harry.A discussion of Harry's upcoming nuptials with Ginny Weasley over diner breakfast should be a breeze for them both, right?
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley
Kudos: 83





	Coming Out of My Cage

Draco casually bumped into Harry’s shoulder as they walked through the door of their favorite diner. Ever since he’d popped the question to the Girl Weasel, Harry had been yoyo-ing between extreme happiness and extreme despair. The happiness made sense to Draco, it was like the perfect ending to a fairytale: the Golden Boy ends up with the beloved damsel. The ultimate Hogwarts sweetheart story come to life. And yet… Draco could see so clearly that Harry wasn’t as happy as the rest of the adoring wizarding public seemed to think. Pansy had given him quite enough shite about his possible “ulterior motives” for seeing cracks in the Chosen One’s happy facade. But Draco was a Slytherin, which meant reading people was one of his greatest assets. And if there was anything he could plainly see, it was that Harry Potter was not enthused about marrying his best friend’s little sister.

“Listen, Potter,” Draco began. The pair sat down in the red, vinyl booth of the diner as the waitress brought over a kettle and empty teacups for them to fill. “You know I’m happy for you and your upcoming nuptials, but you have been absolutely miserable to teach with since you proposed to Ginevra.”

“She won’t let me have any say! How can I not be miserable?” Harry grumbled, reaching for the kettle to pour himself some tea. Before Draco could interrupt, Harry continued, “I wanted lilies…she turned me down. I asked if we could hold the ceremony on Hogwarts grounds, she laughed! It’s like she doesn’t want my input at all.” 

“You know it pains me to defend a Weasley, but it is her day too, you know.” Draco said. Somewhat distracted by Harry’s outburst, Draco began adding more milk to his tea than normal. Harry reached across the table to still Draco’s hand before carrying on with his wedding rant.

“I know that, but don’t I deserve a say? Isn’t this supposed to be the most important day of our lives?” Harry ran his hands through his already mussed hair in frustration. “The whole reason we fought a war was to have a chance to really live.”

“Sure, you deserve to have some input into your wedding, but honestly, shouldn’t the fact that you get to marry her be enough?” Draco knew that if he were ever fortunate enough to find someone to look beyond his past and marry him, he could get married in the Shrieking Shack and would still be overjoyed.

“The only wedding I’ve attended in the wizarding world was interrupted by Death Eaters,” Harry said pointedly. “I want to be able to experience a true wizarding wedding with Ginny. I want to pull out all the stops, and make this an event that nobody will ever forget..”

Before Draco could respond with his true thoughts on the matter, the waitress appeared at their table.

“Can I get you two lovebirds anything to eat?” she asked.

“Oh, we’re not-”

“He isn’t-” Draco and Harry said simultaneously.

“I’m engaged,” Harry finally spit out. “To a lady.”

“Her name is Ginny,” Draco added. But the blush spreading across his cheeks betrayed his true feelings.

“Uh, huh. Sure. Okay. So...food?” the waitress asked again. She dramatically flipped the page over in her notepad.

“I’ll have an egg white omelette with spinach, tomatoes, and mushrooms with wheat toast, no butter. And he’ll have a full English, eggs extra runny and sausage well done, please” Draco said, dramatically snapping his menu shut.

The waitress efficiently wrote down the order and walked away as Harry gave Draco a piercing glance.

“You know you don’t have to order for me” Harry said.

“Was that not exactly what you would’ve ordered? I was really saving our poor waitress the dismay of having to deal with your abysmal table manners,” Draco shrugged. “But back to your wedding...if I didn’t know you better, Potter, I’d think you were more interested in the grandeur of having a wedding rather than the actual point of it: the lasting and loving commitment of marriage.” Harry paused to let this sink in. 

“It’s just, the wedding might be all we really get and agree on, you know?” Harry fiddled with the napkin in his lap. “Ginny wants to go off and play for the Harpies. She’s not exactly interested in really settling down and starting a family.”

“Potter, anyone with eyes can see you want a family more than anything. Are you really going to go through with a wedding if that’s not part of the deal?” Draco asked incredulously.

“I guess I haven’t really considered what happens AFTER the wedding... I’ve just been so caught up with the pomp and circumstance.”

“Speaking as a somewhat objective party,” Draco said, feigning vague indifference. “What is it that you really want?”

“I want somebody to like me for me.” Harry sighed. “I want somebody who looks at me and sees someone other than ‘the-boy-who-lived and...the boy-who-lived, again.’”

“Well… Wasn’t Ginny’s initial interest in you because you were famous and her brother’s best friend?” Draco questioned, “And besides, just because you defeated a Dark Lord doesn’t mean that there aren’t people out there who like you for you… And maybe you wouldn’t have to look that far to find them.” Draco paused, his pulse racing. Then added quietly, “Maybe they’re in this diner.”

“In here?” Harry asked, looking towards the waitress, and shook his head. He reached absentmindedly for the uneaten piece of toast on Draco’s plate. “I never understand why you don’t get butter on your toast. We both know you love the stuff.”

“Well maybe I don’t order it for me,” Draco said sheepishly. 

“If you didn’t order it for yourself, then who are you ordering it for?”

“Honestly, Potter, if you were any slower you’d be going backwards.” 

Harry remained looking genuinely confused. 

“Oh for the love of- I know your breakfast order, I order toast without butter, I sit here in a diner at any hour of the day listening to you whine, because I’m in love with you, you absolute buffoon!” Draco exclaimed, finally feeling a bit of release from expressing his emotions that was immediately followed by pure dread at what he’d just revealed.

“You...I...er…” Harry stammered, noticing the bright red blush that had overtaken Draco’s normally pale complexion. “I guess..how long have you felt this way?”

“I wasn’t peeping on you at Madame Malkins, if that’s what you’re worried about.” The trademark Malfoy sneer flitted across his face before he sighed. “But long enough. Far longer than I probably should have safely, given the number of Legilimens crawling around the Manor the last few years before the war ended. I was a bit obsessed with you. I kind of assumed you had figured me out.”

Having this information made Harry rethink his Hogwarts years through a new lens. He thought about how often he would check his Marauder’s Map looking for Draco’s name, how he followed him through Knockturn Alley and on the Hogwarts Express, and his constant need to prove that he was a competent wizard around Draco. 

“I guess I always assumed that you hated me when we were in school,” Harry finally responded.

“Of course I hated you,” Draco replied. “But I also liked you. A lot. I was so concerned about blood status and how my family saw me that I was terrified by how I felt about you, so I may have overcompensated a bit.”

“Oh,” Harry took a sip of his tea trying to hide the redness of his cheeks. “I guess...I guess I never really considered another option. Ginny just seemed like such an obvious choice. It’s certainly what has been expected of her and I for years.” 

Sure, Harry had his bisexual awakening when he realized that his admiration for Cedric was less about appreciation of his magical prowess and more about finding him incredibly attractive. But he hadn’t really considered Draco as an option. Draco was a co-worker who had become his best friend as Ron and Hermione grew closer as husband and wife, because he understood what it was like to have the monumental pressure of high expectations placed on you at all times. Draco was often there for him when Ginny was out training for the Harpies. And it was Draco that convinced Harry to drop out of the Auror Academy and become the DADA Professor at Hogwarts instead. Could he really have been oblivious this whole time?

“I… I think I need to talk to Ginny.” Harry grabbed Draco’s hands from across the table. “But I can’t deny that you’ve been there for me these past few years. And you’ve always been an important part of my life, even when we weren’t exactly friendly with each other. You always motivated me to be a better person. And I have this sneaking suspicion I can’t really get rid of you. You’ll always be a part of my life.”

“Scared, Potter?” Draco answered, gently squeezing their joined hands.

“You wish.” 

And then Harry blew caution to the wind, and gave into his desire since sixth year and kissed Draco. The waitress smiled from behind the counter as she rang up their bill. She’d been watching their interactions for years, and she was so glad they had finally figured their shit out.


End file.
